a student-run publication that seeks to provide space for voices that are not being heard on our campus. we are grounded by politics that are radical, anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-classist, anti-homophobic, anti-ableist, and anti-transphobic (against all forms of oppression) and that reject the structural neo-liberal paradigm that characterizes middlebury college and its official publications

Not only did POLSCI and RCGA refuse to rescind their co-sponsorship, POLSCI Professor Matthew Dickinson proceeded to host Legutko in the RAJ Conference room this afternoon (Wed 4/17/2019) at 4:30 PM, disregarding a schoolwide email stating to cancel the event due to serious safety concerns for both student protestors and Legutko.

This letter is now closed to responses.

————————————————————–

Dear Department of Political Science and Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs,

We would like to express our adamant opposition to your sponsorship of the upcoming talk by Ryszard Legutko. We firmly believe that Ryszard Legutko’s actions and rhetoric violate Middlebury College Community Standards.

We ask the Political Science (PSCI) Department and the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs (RCGA) to consider Ryszard Legutko’s own words. Legutko authored an entire book, Why I am Not Tolerant, deriding multiculturalism and egalitarianism. In his article, “What’s Wrong With Liberalism?” he writes: “Multiculturalism is always either a highly regulated system or a homogenizing ideology which conceals its homogeneity by selecting some fashionable minority “culture”—homosexuals, Africans, feminists— to which its adherents kowtow and make this kowtowing the criterion of “openness” to plurality” (p. 13). He dismisses those fighting for their essential human rights (the “multiculturalists”) as tyrannical, rhetoric that is offensive at best and downright dangerous at worst, given the violence LGBT people, women, and black people still face all over the world. In an interview with France 24 Legutko argued that gay marriage is an “unnecessary, destructive experiment.” Additionally he called Pride “aggressive, anti-Christian and shocking.” His generalized grouping of queer, African, and feminist folks demonstrates clear prejudice for disparate groups that diverge from a white Christian hegemony.

In his latest book, the subject of his upcoming talk, he once again dismisses feminists and gay people as members of a communist conspiracy group, writing, “they [communist and liberal-democratic artists] perform similar roles: a proletarian was replaced by a homosexual, a capitalist by a fundamentalist, exploitation by discrimination, a communist revolutionary by a feminist, and a red flag by a vagina” (p. 140 in e-text). In so doing, he dismisses the struggles of historically marginalized groups especially LGBTQ+ individuals and women who to this day continue to fight for equal rights and liberties. By comparing the female body to a “red flag,” he contributes to the continued dehumanization of women. He promotes an anti-feminist anti-LGBTQ+ platform that reduces members of the Middlebury community into a conspiracy group.

We then ask the PSCI Department and the RCGA to consider Ryszard Legutko’s membership of the “Law and Justice Party” (PiS). PiS is a far-right political entity known for its homophobic, racist, sexist, and xenophobic orientations. In 2018, PiS sparked international outrage when they marched alongside far-right groups for Poland’s independence day. Banners at the march read “Pure Poland, White Poland”, “Refugees, get out!”, “White Europe of brotherly nations,” and “Islam = Terror.” In addition to their rhetoric, the party has weakened Polish democracy by challenging the independence of the judiciary and silencing opposition, for example through the “Act on the Institute of National Remembrance,” which criminalizes mentioning Polish collaboration with the Nazis during the Holocaust.

We urge the PSCI Department and RCGA to rescind their support for Legutko’s engagement, as it sends a direct message to the student body and to the greater community that Middlebury as an academic institution does not value the emotional and mental wellbeing of a large number of community members and groups on this campus. This talk brings harm to students yet adds nothing of intellectual value to the wider campus community, nor does it align with the Alexander Hamilton Forum’s stated goal of “foster[ing] thoughtful engagement with the ideas that have informed the creation and development of the American polity.” There is nothing thoughtful or innovative about giving even more space to homophobes, racists, and misogynists than they already occupy in the American political sphere.

By co-sponsoring a speaker who blatantly and proudly expounds homophobic, racist, xenophobic, misogynistic discourse, the RCGA is severely undermining its mission to “build bridges across disciplines and communities”. In endorsing Legutko and the rhetoric that he embodies, the RCGA is shutting out large swaths of the Middlebury community, all of whom are engaged, critical, and rigorous thinkers whose energies would be better spent not combating degrading and dehumanizing rhetoric.

By co-sponsoring a speaker who writes and has built a career off of homophobic, xenophobic, racist, misogynistic discourse, the PSCI Department is repeating the same mistakes as it has in the past. By once again ignoring a litany of voices in our Middlebury community, the PSCI department is failing to “meet the demands of thoughtful citizenship.” Students have voiced again and again that bringing speakers such as Legutko is not productive. Academic departments should set a standard as to what is debatable, and we firmly believe that homophobia, xenophobia, racism, and misogyny are not, are never debatable. A cornerstone of any kind of “thoughtful citizenship” should always be listening, and we urge you all to recall the events of March 2, 2017 where the administration, including President Laurie Patton and the PSCI Department failed to listen to the voices of students.

In the time post-March 2nd, alongside institutional retribution, students faced mental, emotional, academic, and personal challenges from having their existence on this campus trivialized. We see this event as coming dangerously close to re-inflicting a similar pain on the student body. As students, faculty, and community members who care deeply about the growth of this institution, we see this event as a regression, an antithesis to Middlebury’s hopes to “foster the inquiry, equity, and agency necessary for [students] to practice ethical citizenship,” all within an “inclusive environment”. Inquiry, equity, and agency cannot be fostered in the same space that accepts and even elevates homophobic, xenophobic, misogynistic discourse. Bigotry of any kind should not be considered a form of inquiry.

Once again, we strongly urge you to withdraw support and your co-sponsorship of the upcoming talk by Ryszard Legutko. As institutions of authority at Middlebury College, the PSCI department and the RCGA should be sending a strong message that bigotry of any form is unacceptable instead of giving bigots a platform at the expense of student well-being.

Respectfully,

Vee Duong ‘19

Mikaela Chang ‘19

Juliana Dunn ‘19

Subin Cho ’19

Stephen Chen ‘19.5

Rebecca Duras ‘19

Anton Gallegos ‘21

Ngor Luong ‘19

Taite Shomo ‘20.5

Grace Vedock ‘20

Uno (Eun Ho) Lee ’21

Marcelo López ‘19

Rachael Joo, Associate Professor of American Studies

Daniel F. Silva, Assistant Professor of Luso-Hispanic Studies

Maria Bobbitt-Chertock

Jackson Tham

Hannah Patterson ‘19

Rebecca Wishnie

Sophie Clark

Brenna Wilson ’20

Melisa Topic ‘19

Emily Han ’20

Joon Woo Kang ’21

Tiffany Lee ‘22

Abby Dennis ’21

Itzel Diaz Cornejo ‘20.5

Bing Ibrahim ’20

Laura Chang ’20

Isla Bowery ‘20.5

Celia Alter ‘19.5

Laurie Essig, Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies

Gillian Moore ’20

linus owens, associate professor of sociology

Charlotte Cahillane ‘19.5

Michelle Kim ’17

Ho June (Sean) Rhee ’21

Rachel Hemond ‘19.5

Inez Lee ’19

Sabrina Wang ’19

Harper Lee Baldwin ’19

Sadie Housberg ‘21

Jeff Holland ’19

Myles Maxie ’22

Katy Kim ‘22.5

Lulu Zhou ’19

Carissa Lee ’19

Stella Boye-Doe ‘19

Cesar Alvarado ’20

Travis Sanderson ’19

Amanda Rodriguez ’21

Sylvia Choi ‘19

Megan Salmon ’21

Julia Comacchio ’20

Hunter Graham ’20

Zoe Garcia ’22

Alaina Pribis ’19

Robert Lichenstein ’19

Meiriely Amaral ’19

Tara L. Affolter, Associate Professor of Education Studies

Keith Chatinover ‘22.5

Ben Graves, Assistant Professor of English and American Literatures

Allyson Stevens ‘19

Abbey Green ‘20.5

Jess Garner ‘19.5

Jocelyn Tenorio ‘19

Fahmid Rashid ‘22.5

Richard Brach ‘16.5

Willow Galusha ‘22.5

Siena Caddle ‘22.5

Kaitlynd Collins ’19

Andrew Sebald ’19

Wengel Kifle ’20

Elizabeth King, 13.5

Nathaniel Kerr ’11

Lex Scott ’19

Ellie Thompson 2022

Joye Gilbert ’21

Indira Yuldasheva ‘22

Sarah Tang ‘22

Tierra Lu ‘19

Arielle Landau ’21

Norma Leyva, ‘22

Paul Flores-Clavel ’22

Grace Najmulski ’21

Ricardo Rosales-Mesta ’19

Aiko Hassett ‘20

Alvaro Cerqueira ‘22

Anne Moore, ’98

Jonna Keith ‘20.5

Zachary Varricchione ’21

Annette Franklin, The House, Inc., student support

Audrey Pan, ‘19

Phoebe Brown ‘22.5

Isaac Danuloff ‘22.5

Mari Odoy ’20

Christine Nabung ’22

Jackson Evans ‘22

Quinn Raymond ’00

Sara Gilmore ‘20

Selvyn Yovany Martinez Barahona ‘20

Jacynda Ely Espenshade ‘21

Micah Raymond ’21

Patricia Saldarriaga, Professor of Luso-Hispanic Studies

Elizabeth Reyes ’22

Yamit Netter-Sweet 21.5

Elissa Asch ‘22.5

Hannah Abdelaal ’21

Elena Johnson ‘00

Tyler DeShong ‘21

Kaja Aagaard ’22

Erin Work ‘18

Luisangel Osorio ‘20

Cooper Lamb 22.5

Marlene Rios ’21

Jeanette Moreno ‘19.5

Dula Dulanto ‘20

Philip Brand ‘18.5

Esteban Arenas-Pino ’18

Cooper Kelley ’22

Jay York ’21

Jess Masinter, ’19

Qadira Al-Mahi ’19

Madison Middleton ‘22.5

Luna Gizzi ‘21

Julia-Jeane Lighten ´20

Juniper Hall-Aquitania ’19

Aidan Mattingly ’22

Britney Lux ‘21

Niyafa Boucher ’22

Annie Benson ’19

Elizabeth Gordon ’09

Leif Taranta ‘20.5

Elsa Korpi ’22

Roodharvens Joseph ’22

Lexie Massa ’21

Karl Lin ‘20

Toni Cross ’18

Irina Feldman, Associate Professor of Luso-Hispanic Studies

Hannah Gokaslan ‘20.5

Laura Dillon ‘19

Jaden Hill ’22

Isabella Primavera ‘21.5

Asa Skinder 2022.5

Alyssa Brown ‘20

Jasmine Chau ’19

Emily Thompson ’22

Wynne Ebner ’19

Robbie Holley ‘20

Nathan Nguyen ’19

Alejandra Chavez ’19

James Scott ’19

Jake Gaughan ’22

Cat La Roche ’21

Aditya Jain 2022

Ana Luisa Vosmik ‘21

James Marriott ’19

Ariana Rios ’21

Rayn Bumstead ’21

Daniel Krugman ’21

Divya Gudur ‘21

Irene Fernald ’21

Madison Stewart-Boldin ’19

Kayla Lichtman ‘21

Madison Stewart-Boldin ’19

Kayla Richards ’22

Cale Wisher ‘22.5

Kate Criscitiello ’19

Prasanna Vankina ‘18

Jonathan O’Dell ‘18.5

Naomi Cutler ’20

Oakley Haight ’17

Nhi Do ‘22

Keegan Pando ’21

Haein Lee ‘21

Adrienne Goldstein ‘20

Josie Lagerstrom ‘22

Christine Hanolsy ’97, MA ’01 Russian

Jack Brisson ’19

Kayla Buchanan 2022

Emily Carfi ‘21

Nuria Gonzalez-Boj, ‘22

Luke Kikukawa ‘19.5

Isabel Scal ‘22

Julianne Yu ‘22

Anika Heilweil ‘22

TJ Smith ‘18

Jill Stauffer ’19

Daniella Main ‘22.5

Malia Barca ’19

Ben Yamron ’21

Charlie Caldwell ’22

Raechel Zeller ‘22

Lily Barter ‘19.5

Emily Cipriani ‘19.5

James Kipp ‘19.5

Sarah Cohen ’22

Peter Lawrence ‘21

Toni Cuevas ‘18

Víctor Filpo (‘16 and previous Admissions Counselor)

Allison Suddaby ‘21

Christian Bolding ‘22

Margot Chisholm ‘21

Sebastián Grandas

Shannia Fu ’17

Juan Andrade-Vera ‘19

Gwendolyn Taylor ’21

Christina Shen ’17

Becca Brown ‘18.5

Valerie Gutierrez ‘21

Caralyn Levine ’20

Diana Diaz ’21

Connor Wertz, ‘22

Juliette Gobin ‘16

Olivia Pintair ‘22.5

Emely Zeledon ’20

Isabella Cady ‘22.5

Zoe Grodsky ‘20.5

Alberto Carranza ’20

Emma Lodge ‘19.5

Matthew Fliegauf ’22

Feliz Baca ‘14

Jessica Morales ‘19.5

Sarah Fisher ’13

Emma Patch ‘19.5

Emily Cipriani ’19

Anna Durning ‘19.5

Haegan O’Rourke ‘22

Corbin Dameron ‘19

Diego Meritus ’19

Destini Armstrong ’21

Tara Santi ‘20

Katie Concannon ‘22.5

Forest Jarvis ’15

Rhys Glennon ‘22

Molly Babbin ‘22

Gillinda James ’21

Josie Bourne ’21

Anthony Salas ’20

Sarah Koch ‘18.5

Natasha Ngaiza, Assistant Professor of Film and Media Culture

Allison Dammann ’19

Brooke Laird ‘22

Jiya Pandya ’17

Kate Claman ’19

Lily Wilson ‘18

Warren Lundsgaard ‘21

Cathleen Huang ’21

Pim Singhatiraj ‘21.5

Samuel Wegner ‘18

Luke Bazemore ’21

Erin Hoynes ’19

Antonia Losano, Professor of English and American Literatures

Queenie Li ’22

Jasmine Crane ‘18

Bryan Currie ’22

Ian Johnston ’22

Jeremy Stratton-Smith ’17

Claire Contreras ‘22.5

Ella Dyett ‘20

Lee Garcia ‘19.5

Shridhar Hari Singhania ’22

Sandra Luo ’18

Kemi Fuentes-George, Professor of Political Science

Ben Morris ’22

Taylor Cook ‘18

Darya Khodakhah ’22

Claire Martens ’21

Will Hoppin ‘22

Melanie Rivera ‘19

Cleo Davidowitz ‘21

Olivia Sommers ’21

Arthur Ross ’20

Isaac Ducker class of 2020

Aaron Greene ‘22

Ariadne Will ‘22

Karin Hanta, Director of the Feminist Resource Center at Chellis House

Kira Waldman ‘20

Malia Armstrong ‘22.5

Eric Hass ’15

Izzy Hartnett ‘21

Mimi Micner ‘10

Jess Cohen ‘21

Jameel Uddin ’22

Finn Lester-Niles ‘22.5

Stephanie Miller ’20

John Natalone ‘19

Maia Sauer ’22

Elijah Willig ‘21

David Miranda Hardy, Assistant Professor of Film and Media Culture

William Blastos ‘22.5

Chloe Super, ‘15

Kevin Mata ’22

Elizabeth Warfel ‘19

Michael Simons 22.5

Katherine Corrigan ’19

Sydney Shuster ‘18.5

Rachel Veneziano ’20

Daria Cenedella ‘18.5

Greyson Zatzick ’20

Jack Herscowitz ‘20

Daniela Morales ‘21

Ivy Houde ’19

Noah Sauer ’20

Lucy Nussbaum ‘19

Jennie Bob Bizal-Clark ‘22

Mia Grayson ‘20

MJ Pascual ’19

Brandy Vargas ’22

Shafneen Shah’22

Kevin Mata ’22

Jack Landrigan ’22

Alitzel Villanueva ‘21

Alex Williams ‘19

Sam Zabell ’19

Shaye Anis ’21

Andrée Martyn ’22

Michaela Sullivan ‘22

Jay Silverstein ’19

Brianna Lipp ‘20

Joseph Levine ’21

Kevin Mata ’22

Sandra Ruiz ‘18

Seamus Turco ’21

Alena Taing ’22

David Gossens ’19

Meghan Daly ’18

Adam Fisher ‘19

Sabrina Quintanilla ’19

Maggie Joseph ’20

Andrew Hollyday ‘18

Jilly dos Santos ‘19

Elise Morris ‘22

Ethan Reilly ‘18

Jessica Vela ‘21

Margaret Rose-McCandlish ‘17.5

Ryan Gutheil ‘22

Emily Luber ‘22

Aliana Thomas-Adams ‘21.5

Winta Ghirmai ‘21

Julia Shumlin ‘17.5

Sophie Chalfin-Jacobs ‘22

Addie Mahdavi ’18

Aliana Thomas-Adams ‘21.5

Isabella Cass ’19

Kate McCreary, Political Science ’15

Nia Robinson ’19

Krissy Wong ‘18

Lynn Travnikova ’20

Amari Simpson ’16

Laura Xiao ‘17

Rachel Rose ’21

Bair Lambert ’21

Marquise Adeleye ‘20

Alexander Pastora ’18

Ian Lower ‘22.5

Robert Kelley ‘19.5

Isabelle Bui ’22

Alex Gemme ’21

Brittney Azubuike ‘22

Kathleen Wilson ‘18.5

Vignesh Ramachandran ’18

Jesusdaniel Barba ’18

Emily Nagatomo ’22

Mika Wysocki ‘18

Waleed Helweh ’17

Sergiu White ’22

Emma Norton ’21

Olivia Rieur ’22

Joan Vera ’22

Nathalia Gonzalez 2018

Nicolas Poppe, Assistant Professor of Luso-Hispanic Studies

Rebecca Gorman ’20

Caroline Thacker ‘21.5

Alec Woods ‘13

Thomas Dillon ‘21

Linnea Hubbard-Nelson ‘22

Matthew Martignoni ‘21.5

Andrew Silverman ‘22

Sam Van Lokeren ‘21

Silvia Cantu Bautista ’20

Caroline Magnusson, ‘22.5

Marina DiMarco ’15

Lauren Bates ’20

Lily Shale ‘20

Mary Moore ‘22.5

Zev York, ‘22.5

Eva Bod ‘20

Aidan Acosta ‘20.5

Barrett Smith ’13

Emma Walker ’18

Keith Oliver ’20

Gilman ‘21

Gia Gould ‘19

Julia Shumlin ‘17.5

Hunt Cramer ‘20

Wiatt Hinton

Ariana Hernandez ‘19

Bayu Ahmad ’21

Allison Stevens ‘20.5

Rachel Percelay ‘14

Katie Cournoyer ‘22

Sophie Bardetti ‘22

Arnold Dimas ‘20

Michelle Liu 22′

Sophie Goldman ‘17

Marissa Smith ‘21

Emily Fairchild ‘21.5

Erica Bisaillon ‘21.5

Aumit Leon ‘19.5

Carlie Musto ’20

Emma Ronai-Durning ‘18.5

Juliette Briey Exchange

Peter Sergay ’22

Liz Srulevich ‘21.5

John Gosselin ’20

Samantha Paredes ’20

Thomas Gawel ’18 (I was raised in Poland and I am appalled to have Legutko represent my country.)